The Tragedy of the 90th Hunger Games
by sirimellark
Summary: A beautiful young girl, Jadie Andrews, gets picked to join the scary and deadly hunger games along with an amazingly handsome man, Blake Maddison. Both will have to fight but will they be able to allow either one of them to be killed?
1. Chapter 1

"Ladies First!" Effie Trinket squeals. I roll my eyes. I hate this country, Panem. Nothing but terrible and horrible things happen here. My heart is always either broken or cracking. I can never understand why we can't leave. This country, once America, home to the free and the brave, now completely and utterly destroyed.

"Please don't volunteer for me if I get called up." My little sister, Sara pleads. Her short blonde hair is tied up in a braid with her hands to her sides. I smile slightly and take her hand.

"No promises, my young one." I murmur. She's only seven years old, so young and beautiful. My mother died a long time ago as well as my father. My aunt has total ownership of us now and I love her dearly but I still am never going to let little Sara fight in the deadliest arena yet. The Hunger Games. Those horrible and terrible games that seem to never end.

"Girls, pay attention." Aunt Mia snaps. I sigh and listen, acting like I care. I stare over at the boys section. Each boy, their eager and nervous faces. I catch a glimpse from one in particular though I have only seen him in school few times, he seems to be focusing on me. Watching me. I smile a little and turn back to Effie.

"And the lady of district twelve, the lady tribute, is Jadie Andrews!" she squeals. My heart drops, my hands automatically shake with no end. Jadie Andrews is me. I slowly walk up to the stage, pushing Sara off of my arm. I fight back tears as I take the microphone and say some things about battle strategies though I don't pay attention to what words flow out of my mouth. I back away.

"Now come the gentlemen!" she calls. I notice Sara crying and my aunt hugging her but her cheeks are wet and red as well. Effie pulls a name out of the ball and calls it out clearly. "Blake Maddison." The boy that was staring at me looks over at my eyes, his bloodshot. Stiffly, he comes up to the stage and does not speak.

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!" She summons Blake and I to stand close to eachother and we shake hands, both of our grips tight because both of us are equally freaked out about what will happen next. When I take my hand back, I notice that I am still shaking. Effie summons us to the Justice building and I go there willingly because I want to say goodbye to Sara and my aunt.

I lean back against the white sofa and am not surprised when Sara comes racing into my arms, sobbing. I pat her on the back and then pull her away so she looks into my eyes. "I need you to be brave, Sara. Do you understand me? I need you to be as brave as you can. Be brave for both Aunt Mia and yourself. I also need you to pray that I can make it out of there saftely and if I don't, pray that someone else with a good heart and soul will. Please Sara, I need you to understand these things. I love you more than the sun. You're the greatest thing in my life right now Sara." She continues to sob but nods. "Can I count on you?" I ask.

"Yes, Jadie. You can count on me. Please try to win. Promise me that you'll try." she pleads.

"I promise that I will try. Now, I need to talk to Aunt Mia okay?" I say. Sara cries once again.

"But I don't want to leave you!" she sobs.

"I swear to God I will try to make it out. If you get lonely, think of all the good times we've had. With Father in the Spring time, and Mother in the Winter when we baked. I love you so so much."

"I love you too, Jadie." she cries. We embrace one last time and then she walks out but is quickly replaced by Aunt Mia.

"You have to keep her safe Mia. You have to make sure that she is healthy because God knows that I will most likely not make it out of here. I need to count on you." I say sternly. She pulls me in for a hug and I give it to her.

"I will. And I need you to promise that you'll try. Try to win, don't ever and I mean ever give up. Always move forward." she says.

"I will. I love you but I have to talk to Blake. Pray for both me and him okay? And if I die, pray that he makes it out. Please."

"I love you too. And I will do all of those things, Jadie. Goodbye." She gives me a kiss on the forehead and walks out, crying. I can barely hold on myself. I breathe in deeply as I walk towards Blake who is laying on the couch, playing with a button on his jacket. When he sees me, he sits up quickly and tries to smile. I take a seat next to him and we sit in silence for a while until he finally starts a conversation.

"So that little girl, the one who came to visit you, that was Sara right?"

I'm surprised she knows who my sister is. "Yes. She and I are really close." I answer. I'm horrible at talking to people. I always have been.

"And your aunt, Mia, she was younger than your mother, right?" Wow okay he knows my family pretty well.

"Yeah. She was the youngest." I answer quietly. He thinks about this.

"I have a question and its sort of stupid but what's your favorite book?" he says. I sigh in relief as we change the subject.

"Romeo and Juliet but not for what reasons other people love it." I answer. He nods. "What about yours?" I ask.

"I'm a fan of all of William Shakespeare's novels. Like yours, Romeo and Juliet is my favorite but only for certain reasons."

"What did you think about that play?" I ask.

"I thought that a lot could've been avoided. If they both would've never gotten involved with eachother, none of the major drama would've been caused." he answers thoughtfully. His brown eyes stare at mine.

"I do as well but at the same time, if you're meant to fall in love with someone, you will. But I also think that since both of them were so young, they probably would've met someone else. Someone better." I say.

He nods slightly then asks, "Another question. What's your favorite color?"

"Green. Not bright green but a dark, deep evergreen green. What about yours?"

"Brown. Deep and dark brown like an oak trees leaves in the fall." he answers.

"That's interesting. I've never known anyone to consider brown a favorite color." I say thoughtfully.

"Well, brown is your eye color, therefor, it is my favorite color." he says. I blush and he smiles.

"Come on you two! Time to aboard the train!" Effie hollars. Both Blake and I walk to the train side by side and take a seat next to eachother.

"Okay, my turn. What is your favorite animal?" I ask.

"Cougar." he answers. "And yours?"

"Cougar as well." I say.

"Okay, favorite season." he says.

"Winter. The beautiful snow blanketing the ground, is just amazing. Yours?"

"Same." he answers. I smile and look out the window.

"Thank you for helping me be happier about this whole Hunger Games thing." I murmur.

"You helped me too. You're very interesting to talk to and its not every day that a beautiful girl talks to a geek like me." he says. I can't help but laugh at that comment. He's far from being a geek. His dark brown eyes, his toned abs, his muscular arms, and that smile. Oh I love his smile.

"You are not a geek. You are actually probably one of the most interesting guys I've met. Do you hunt?"

He leans in to whisper the answer in my ear. "Yes. I do. And you?"

"I do." I answer. I do. Did I seriously only say those words? No yes or no just I do? Wow Jadie good job.

"Favorite weapon to use?" he asks.

"Bow and arrows are easiest for me. What about you?"

"Knife and swords." he says. I nod and turn to the window revealing a snow covered mountain. The day is fading and darkness overpowers the sky. My eyes feel heavy and I lean against his shoulder.

"Can I just sleep here this way today?" I ask. He smiles.

"Yeah." he answers. Then I hear him whisper a line from Romeo and Juliet. "Goodnight Goodnight! For parting is sweet sorrow, for I will bid you goodnight until it be morrow." I manage to smile before I fall asleep. Tomorrow we will arrive in the Capitol. That's when the real games begin.


	2. Chapter 2 The Capitol

As I awake, I notice that my hand is taken on Blake's and he strokes it back and forth. "Good morning." he murmurs.

"Good morning." I murmur. "So are we almost at the Capitol?" I ask.

"Well, Effie came in earlier this morning and said that we'll arrive at the Capitol around noon." he says.

"Earlier this morning? When did you wake up?"

"Around seven." he answers.

"Blake, you should've woken me." I say, suddenly feeling guilty about letting him sit there, most likely bored. His face turns into a slight smile.

"But then I couldn't have watched you sleep." he says.

I smile a little. "That's a little creeperish but sweet at the same time." He laughs.

"I know." I take his hand and gently take each finger and stroke it. I catch him smile at me and I smile back. His eyes pracically glow. I never noticed that before.

"What reasons did you like Romeo and Juliet?" I ask.

"The fact that Juliet reminded me of a person that I know. The girl I love. You?" The girl he loves?

"Well then you better make sure you win that way you can get back home to her." I say with a small smile. "And vice versa with Romeo."

"Winning wouldn't exactly help my cause." he says sadly. "I plan to lose."

"Why? Don't you want to see her again? To be able to spend the rest of your life with her?" I say.

"I would give anything for that to happen but like I said, winning is not the solution."

"Why's that?" I ask.

"Because the girl that I'm in love with is...never mind. Let's just drop the subject. I plan to let you win." he says. "Who is the man your in love with?" he asks.

Someone. That's what I want my answer to be is just...someone. I can't tell him. I've hardly even known him but I can't help feel this...this connection with him. Like he knows me but I don't know him all at once. I just..he is the one that I'm in love with but I've known him for such a short time. "He's really sweet, kind, gentle, poetic, funny but not at anyone else's expense. He is my Romeo." I say carefully choosing what words to let flow out of my mouth.

"Will you tell me the name and maybe I'll tell you the name of mine?" he asks.

"You already know the name of who it is." I answer.

"As do you." he says quietly.

"The man I'm in love with is-" I'm about to tell him when the train stops so violently that I am almost thrown off of my chair. We both look at eachother. "You okay?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah." I answer. I'm not sure if I should tell him. There's no way that a guy like him would be into a girl like me. No way. He's so amazing and I'm so..what's the word? Ordinary.

"Who?" he asks. There is no way that I am escaping this one. No possible way. "Okay I'll tell you first. Mine is-" he starts then stares at me.

The word we both say at the same time is, "You." his eyes widen and mine do as well. I feel my hands to slightly shake. Me? What? "Why?" we both say in unison. I let out a deep breath.

"You're my Romeo that's why. I don't know how or even...why I love you when I've hardly even known you but I've never felt a connection this strong with anyone." I say.

"I've had the biggest crush on you since kindergarten." he says quietly. "I just never had the courage to talk to you. I mean you're just amazing and gorgeous and not selfish or rude. You're different from other girls. You are my Juliet."

My heart skips. "You realize that if we...get involved with eachother in a romantic way, we'll be doing almost exactly what they did. They both wanted something that could never happen. Something they couldn't have." I say quietly.

"I understand that but I don't care." he murmurs. I can't stop my heart from pounding hard against my chest and the strange thing is, I don't care either.

"Why? What is so different about me from other girls?" I ask.

"You aren't snooty, or stuck up, you're kind and gentle. Intelligant and strong, and eager but not snotty about it." he says. I wasn't hoping for that good of an answer. "I love you, Jadie. I always have." he murmurs quietly.

"I..I love you too. But you're right. Winning won't help our cause." I say sadly. He gently places his hand on my cheek.

"You're not going to die as long as I am around. It won't happen." he says.

"Well that's the same with you. Don't think that you're going to die for me, or almost die for me because let me tell you, I am as stubborn as anyone goes and-" my words get cut off by his lips. When he pulls away I feel a giant blush overwhelm my cheeks. "That was a really nice way of telling me to shut up."

He smiles. "We're here." I smoothe out my black dress as I stand up. The outside of the train reveals many ten to twenty story buildings and skyscrapers. One, the largest, is the one we are guided to.

"Here are your keys, your room service number, and the number of your suite. We hope you find our hotel enjoyable and delightful, District 12 tributes." the woman at the check in counter says, handing us a variety of items. "You're suite is also stocked with clothes and shoes. Please feel free to contact us if you have any problems."

"Thank you." Blake says, eyeing me as if I should say the same but I don't. We both walk out to the elevater casualy but right when the door shuts he laughs. "You are so stubborn."

"I told you. Why should I thank someone who may want us to die? Nope, that's not what I do. Anyway, what room am I in?" I ask, but the paper only shows one room number.

"I think we share a suite..." he murmurs, almost embarassed.

"Are you sure?" I ask, eyeing through the telephone books and information packets held in my hands.

"Yeah. Come on, if it's a suite, it'll be bigger than what we're use to." he says. I nod and walk out of the elevater door. That's when I notice that we're on the ninteenth floor. I hope that the suite doesn't have too many windows.

We both walk slowly to the door. I stick the key in the door. Inside is covered with beautiful white fur carpet, white sofas, a full kitchen, black walls, and two rooms. One is white with rose petals covering the mattress and the other is black. Plain black. I'm guessing the room with rose petals in it is for me. I walk into it, to be delighted with a huge box of chocolates on my bed. I'm not exagerating when I say huge. It has to be at least two feet wide and three feet long. It is huge. I have to smile when I notice that the note is from Effie Trinket.

I smile as Blake skids into my room with the same box of chocolate held in his hands. "Wow. How much luckier can I get?"

"I have another question. Do you mind if I ask it?" I ask.

"Nope. Go ahead."

"Where did you grow up? Like what part of district twelve?" I ask.

"The Seam." he answers. I nod.

"Same here." I say in response. The Seam. That horrible place. He nods a little. "So, chariots are tomorrow." I need a new subject to talk about.

"Yeah. I wonder what outfit they'll have us in." he says.

"Me too. Listen, if anything happens. If I do something wrong, I need you to tell me okay?"

"You won't but okay. I need to figure out what angle I'm going to be." he says.

"Romantic, sweet, charming, funny, cute. Yeah just about any of those would do for you. Mine is more complicated however." I say. He smiles a little and I untie the box of chocolates. Handing one to him, I almost melt as I eat my own. This isn't the gross fake chocolate, this is pure chocolate. I notice Blake melting too.

"Whoa. I haven't had this stuff since I was four." he says. I hand him another piece as I take one too. At this rate, we could eat this all night. I topple back onto my flower covered mattress and Blake soon follows, beside me. We stay there, looking at the ceiling, taking small bites of each chocolate truffel.

I finally get up and stretch. The window shows the sun setting beneath the clouds. That's when I realize that Blake stands beside me. I turn and smile. An avox knocks on the door and I welcome her in. The poor Avox. Unable to speak or protest. She hands me a note and then walks off. I read it. Basically all it says is to set the alarm for seven in the morning because we must get to the makeup studios at eight. I hand it to Blake and I catch a sigh that he creates and smile.

"Even when we're going to die in a few weeks, we have to wake up early." he mumbles.

"Don't talk like that, you won't die." I say.

"Don't get your hopes up." he says. I frown and pet his cheeks.

"Please don't talk like that, Blake. For me?"

"Okay. I'm sorry." he says. I lean in and kiss him ever so softly.

"It's okay." I end up getting involved with a television series. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I must say, my all time favorite charecter is Angel. He is hot. Not as hot as Blake, but pretty hot. Spike comes in second. He's an evil vampire that turns good when he falls in love with Buffy. So romantic. Almost everytime a commercial comes on, while I'm sighing, Blake gets a smile on his face.

This episode that I'm watching is when Angel was really sick. Like on the verge of dying sick. I'm in tears and I am pretty sure that Blake is taking advantage of that by cuddling me up in his arms. I end up laughing saying that I feel like a member of the family is dying.

"Well, then if you're going to treat me like this with the hugs and the kisses, then I need you watching this show more often." he says with a smile. I give him a dirty look but it quickly turns into a smile.

"You can watch your show if you want." I say.

"No thanks. I'm starting to kind of like this show." he says sweetly.

"Really?" I ask.

"No, I just like the hugs." he replies with a laugh. 

"I knew it." I say with a smile. He grins and kisses my forehead.

"This is really nice. I miss spending time with people who actually understand me." he says.

"Understand you? We've only been away from home since yesterday." I say, confusion in my voice.

"I know but the truth is that my family doesn't care about me at all. You actually care and understand me." he murmurs.

"Well, it's really nice to spend time with you too." I say. When Buffy turns back on I hear a small groan come out of Blake and grin. "You realize that if you don't change the channel soon, then I am going to get so hooked into this that I won't offer it anymore right?"

He laughs. "I'm fine." After a while, it starts to get late and I end up falling asleep on the couch. I barely wake up but it's just to notice Blake tucking me into my bed. "Goodnight, Juliet." he whispers, kissing me on the forehead.


	3. Chapter 3 Chariots

The clock beeps as the alarm is set. "Ugh." I groan, slamming the top of it with my hand, trying to shut it up. When it still doesn't turn off I whack it really hard. "Shut up!" I yell, my voice tired. I hear Blake's smoothe and silky laugh next to me.

"Here," he says, reaching across from me, gently pressing a button. This gets the alarm off. I sigh and find my back laid on his chest.

"Thanks." I say, still somewhat irritated. I stand up, stretch, and feel my legs buckle. _So tired_ I think. "Um...I have to get changed."

"Okay." he says, still standing there.

"That means, I have to replace my clothes with new ones." I say.

"I know." he still stands there.

"So, I kind of need privacy." I add.

"I'm the only one here." he says way too innocently.

"Blake, you realize I'm hinting that you should get out and let me change, right?"

"Yes." he answers. I sigh.

"Are you going to leave, or not?" I ask.

" If I'm forced to go, then I will but if I'm not then no." he answers. "But may I remind you that there will be no privacy in the games."

"Fine. Just turn around." I say, moving my finger in a twirling motion. He sighs and turns. Smiling, I grab a pair of skinny jeans, a long white tunic, and a pair of black boots and put them on. I straighten my hair and put on some black eyeshadow, making me look more dangerous than cute.

"Wow." he says, rolling his tounge. "You look hot."

"This coming from a man who reads Shakespeare." I say with a laugh.

"That means I just know hot when I see it. When I look at you, I can honestly say that I see it."

I laugh a little. Me? Hot? I am so plain that plain is really the only word you could use to describe me. "So today are the chariot rides. I can't wait to see what they put you in." he says.

"Yeah. I'm kind of excited too. I hear that my stylist is hot. Like really hot." I say with a grin. I guess his name is Johnathan. He's supposed to be this new stylist who just came in from England. Hot, British accent, and I've heard rumors about his rock hard abs.

"Just don't fall in love with him too much." Blake teases.

"Never." A mischevious tone haunts my voice.

"We should probably get moving." he says. I nod and let myself out of the suite, Blake behind me. I open the elevater and when I see my stylist, I can't help but feel my hands shake slightly. His hair is a black color that is cropped to the side in a skater fashion, he wears a gray v-neck that you can see his abs through his shirt, a pair of dark gray jeans, and dress shoes. His biceps are muscular and I notice a groan come out of Blake. His stylist is not here yet and I'm sure that me checking out mine doesn't make him too happy either.

The man smiles as I see him and in a deep, mysterious, British accent he purrs, "Why hello. You must be Juliet, correct?"

"Um..Jadie." I correct, not sure how he got the two names mixed up.

"Oh no, I mean you look gorgeous. That's what I meant by Juliet. Nice to meet you, Jadie." he says, holding out his arms. Normally I shake hands but I can't resist. I walk into them and give him a small hug. His abs are so hard that I swear, he must work out or something.

"Thank you." is all I manage to say.

"Why hello, you must be Blake, right?" I turn to see a girl, most likely in her late twentys or early thirties come up. Her hair is crimped and is bleach blonde with a small clip in her hair. Her eyes are bright blue and she wears a short black dress. She is amazing too.

"Yes, that's me." he answers. I can't help glare at him but I know that he's mad at me for accepting the hug. I kind of deserve it. Johnathan nudges me.

"Come on, Gorgeous. Let's make you look even more stunning than now...if that's even possible." he says. I smile and blush.

I can't help it when I say, "Thank you and I must say, you have to be one of my favorite parts of this whole Hunger Games situation." I smile, satisfied when I catch a glare from Blake.

"Why, thank you." He says.

"How old are you?" I ask.

"Sixteen. My father wanted me to try this. I was in for it when he brought up the pretty girls." he says, smiling. "And you?"

"Same age." I answer.

"Well, I must say, you look like you'd be seventeen or eighteen. You're a very beautiful girl, Jadie. Any guy that you love, is very lucky."

I notice Blake give me a small nod. I smile a little and give him a goodbye hug. "Bye. See you at the chariots."

"Okay. Love you." he murmurs. Feeling like an idiot, I don't respond and leave with Johnathan. He walks me to a small room and sets me on a chair. He hands me a fluffy white bathrobe.

"So, do you want me in here or not?" he asks, sweetly.

"Um...it's up to you." I say.

"Well, if it's up to me...then maybe I should stay here and turn around." he says. I nod and watch as he turns himself around. I take my clothes off and replace them with the warm fur robe.

"I'm done." I say. He turns around and I see him eye my legs for a split second and then turn away.

"Well, you look perfect to me. There's not much that I can fix. Here's your clothes and then we'll send in Jessica to do your hair. She was thinking about giving it an a-line and dying the ends of it red. Is that okay with you?"

"Um yeah." I say. He gives me a skin tight black dress but at the lower back, it turns into a long and gorgeous red and orange sparkling train. There's also a black tiara filled with black diamonds to go into my hair and a pair of black high heels.

"So, I'll let you change." he says. Johnathan begins to step out but I gently take his wrist.

"If you turn around again you can stay. There's no privacy in the games anyway." I say sweetly.

"Okay." he turns around and I change out of the robe and put on the dress. It's surprisingly comfortable. It has no straps but still is easy to move around in. I strap up the heels and turn to the mirror.

"Done." I say. Johnathan turns and smiles at me.

"Beautiful. Simply beautiful." he says. I smile a little and a girl with curly black hair, blue eyes, and a mini skirt with leggings walks in. "Jessica, this is Jadie. Jadie, this is Jessica."

"Hey," she says with a small smile. "I'm your hair stylist."

"Nice to meet you." I say. She begins to gently brush my hair with the coloring and after about an hour, my hair is cut and dyed. I notice her smile and straightens my hair.

"I did an amazing job." she says, spinning the chair to the mirror. When I see my reflection, I am amazed. My hair looks amazing with the tips lightly colored with red dye and and streaked with it as well. The a-line looks great too.

"You did." I agree. She smiles and adds some dark makeup and I smile as I am transformed.

"Well, my work here is done." she says eyeing me. "You're all ready."

"Great." I say, still eyeing myself. She walks out and I am greeted by Johnathan.

"Wow. You look almost deadly. I like it." he says with his eyes staring me from head to toe.

"Thanks. I'm going to go and meet up with Blake." I say. He nods and I walk out, almost tripping on my train.

When I get to the main lobby, I go out to where the garden is held to find it transformed with chariots and chairs for the highly thought of people in the Capitol. I smile as I see Blake looking amazing in his dark jeans, black v-neck t-shirt, and newly created hair so the skater style is even more exagerated. His eyes are highlighted with eyeliner and I can't help but feel nervous around him.

"Hey, Beautiful." he says. I smile a little and slowly make my way toward him. "You look great."

"Thanks. So do you. When is this whole thing supposed to start?" I ask curiously.

"In about ten minutes or so. Just barely enough time for me to admire you." he gives me a cute wink after he says it. I blush a little and he smiles.

"Admire me? Please. If Johnathan did this well, I wonder how we'll look for the interviews." I say.

"You'll look gorgeous, I'm sure. Have you decided on your angle yet?" he asks.

I laugh a little. "One step at a time. No, not yet. Tomorrow will be the day though. Joy oh joy." I say.

He chuckles. "You'll get a great one. Who are our mentors?" he asks.

"I think Jamie Jacobsen and Justin Andrews. They're supposed to be nice." I say. He smiles and takes my hand.

"Um...my stylist says we're supposed to hold hands. Is that okay?" he asks sweetly.

"Of course it is." I say, as if it's the most obvious thing ever. Blake smiles and lifts me on the chariot.

"Great." he purrs in a deep voice. After a while, our chariot gets sent out. I smile and blow some kisses and grin at the oohs and awes from the audience. I feel Blake's grip loosen a little but I grab it back. "Are you sure?" he asks in a whisper.

"Positive." I answer. I catch his smile and I wave at few more people but our chariot is sent back in and I get off of it and almost faint. That's when I realize I haven't eaten at all today. My legs buckle and I fall back into Blake's arms.

"You okay?" he asks, concern in his voice.

"Yeah just...just don't let go. I need to eat." I say. He nods and picks me up, carrying me in his arms.

"Okay. Let's order room service." he says. I nod and drape my arms around his neck. Blake keeps walking until we get up to our suite. When we turn on the the t.v. I notice that we're on it. We looked dazzeling. I smile and order a pizza and icecream. That's when I find out that they have steak too and I order that as well.

"We can share." I say. Blake smiles a little and thanks me. I turn on my Buffy show and when room service shows up, we eat so much that we're both really full by the end of it. I lay on his chest on the couch and we watch my show.

"Can you please just try to stay alive? I couldn't live with myself if you died." Blake says.

"It depends on the circumstances." is all I say. I take his hand and gently brush it with my own.

"I love you. I love you so much, Jadie." he says. "Please don't let yourself get into a bad position."

"No promises." I murmur. I feel myself get turned around to him and he gently kisses my cheek. I feel my hands shake but don't care. His hands gently move down to my waist and he kisses me sweetly on the neck and then pulls away.

"Let's get you to bed." he purrs. Dissappointed, I get up and walk to my room. "Mind if I sleep with you?" he asks.

"Um...okay." I say. He sits on top of the blankets and lays down. His hand reaches my cheek to cushion it and I close my eyes and fall into a calm and relaxing sleep.


	4. Chapter 4 Angles

As I wake up to another stupid beeping alarm, I turn it off and gently wake up Blake. "Morning, Jadie." he murmurs. I smile a little and get up.

"Good morning, Blake. Did you sleep okay?" I ask. He nods sleepily and gets up and stretches. "I have to get dressed."

"Okay." he says. His face plummets into a pillow.

"Are you sure you slept okay?" I ask.

"I stayed up to make sure that nothing hurt you." he says. "And you're okay."

I feel really bad now. He's going to be so tired today. "I'm sorry. You can go back to sleep." I say.

"Oh no, that's okay." he says. "I'll just close my eyes and tell me when you're dressed okay?"

"Okay." I say, my voice still sad. Poor Blake.

"I'm fine, Sweetheart. Really, I am." he says sweetly. I smile, not believing him, and get dressed in a white, ankle length, gown and a pair of gorgeous white sandels. I also add a headband and a pearl necklace.

"Okay." I say. Blake gets up and changes into a pair of jeans and a plain longsleeve black shirt. That's when I catch myself watching him and he smiles when he notices too. _Good Job Jadie._ Oh my God, he has abs. I feel my entire body melt just looking at them. Blake laughs a little and pulls on his shirt.

"So, angles today." he says, clearly trying to make me feel less embarassed.

"Yeah. I wonder what yours will be.." I say, still having the image of his tan six pack in my mind.

"I don't know. Yours will probably be sweet, or senstitive, or shy or..." his voice trails off. "Or maybe hot. You know, any of those could work."

I smile a little. "Yeah, well yours will probably be romantic or charming." I murmur. Blake smiles and orders room service. We share a stack of pancakes and a huge platter of sausage. When we finish, I turn on the television and am happy to see us being the top of the night with our amazing outfits.

"You looked amazing." he says.

I blush. "Thanks, you did too."

"Well, we should probably leave...I mean, we should. I need to meet Justin and and Jamie." he says. I nod and agree reluctantly.

"Hey must be Jadie, right?" A man says. He's gorgeously hot too. Wow, my life is amazing so far besides the entire deadly thing to it.

"Um, hi." I murmur quietly. The man's green eyes, so dark green, glint. He smiles and holds out his hand towards me. "And yes that's me."

"Great. My name is Justin. Nice to meet you." his voice is warm and kind.

"Nice to meet you too, Justin. So, are you my mentor?" I ask, hopefully.

"Yes. I will be helping you in the Games. Jamie will too, don't worry, but I'll be the main one."

"Great. I'll need all the help I can get." I say with a nervous laugh. Justin smiles a little and he lets go of my hand.

"I'm Blake." I smile when I hear that voice. He's obviously annoyed.

"Nice to meet you." Justin says, shaking his hand. That's when a girl with long black hair and brown eyes comes up to us.

"Hello. You must be Jadie and Blake right?"

"Yep." Blake and I say in unison. She laughs.

"I'm Jamie." she says, her voice sweet. "And I believe that my first visit is with Jadie." she says smiling at me.

"Great. See ya' guys." I say. They smile and I walk off with Jamie. The entire time is basically about questions.

I get asked to walk in high heels and then smile and all of that. It gets really annoying after a while. Then a question that I do not want to answer comes up. "Have you ever been in love?"

I sigh, not sure what to say. I mean, technically I am in love. So that's what I say. "With whom?" she asks. "Or I mean, if you don't want to tell me then that's okay."

"Um...well...we could never be together." I say sadly.

"Oh." is all she says. After a while, I get sent to Justin and we basically just talk and eat some pastries.

"So, I must warn you. I've been under strict orders not to flirt with you, but it's really hard." he says grinning.

"Oh really? I'm pretty sure you just did." I say with a laugh. "By whom?" I ask.

"Blake." he answers. I smile a little and stare down at my half eaten chocolate old fashioned doughnut. "Do you like him?" he asks.

"Yeah. I do." I say almost sad. I know that it can never work out. "Anymore questions?" I need a grasp on another subject.

"Nope." he says.

"So what is my angle?" I ask.

He smiles a little. "Your angle is gorgeous/romantic. All you have to do is batt your eyes a few times and then smile your usual gorgeous smile. Then if Caesar asks, answer the boyfriend questions as romantic as possible. Okay?"

Romantic and gorgeous. Ugh. "Yes. Okay." I sigh and walk in my room to find that it's time for bed. Blake sits on the side of the bed and I smile as I see him.

"Hey," he says.

"Hi. What's your angle?" I ask.

He grins. "You'll see." He goes into his bed and closes his eyes.

"No goodnight, or kiss, or anything? You just go to bed?" I ask feeling defensive.

"I'm sorry. Goodnight, Sweetheart." he murmurs. I smile a little because I know how tired he is.

"Goodnight." I go into my room and lay down. Tomorrow are the interviews. How the heck am I going to pull off my angle? I sigh and turn off the light. Goodnight normal life, hello Hunger Games.


	5. Chapter 5 Interviews

I wake up slowly and stretch. As I get up, I hear Blake's gentle and sweet voice behind me. "Goodmorning, Sweetheart."

"Goodmorning." I murmur. "So interviews are today."

He nods and then all of the sudden hugs me. That's when I realize that the Games are in a few days. I accept the hug and can't help kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I love you so much Jadie." he murmurs.

I can almost feel his breath, so warm adn soft, radiate onto my neck. His arms wrap around my shoulders and I wrap mine around his neck. His eyes, what used to show sensitivity and love, now show a sense of mischeif and at the same time, anger. "Look, everything will turn out okay. I swear." I doubt the words as they flow out of my mouth.

"You won't die for me. It won't happen." he says sternly.

"You won't die for me either." I say. "We'll see what the outcome is."

"No. You will not die for me. I will die for you." he says. I shake my head and walk into my closet. Quickly, I pull out a pair of short white shorts, and a white cotton t-shirt. Then I tie my hair up in a loose pony tail and head downstairs with Blake. We are really quiet most of the time and then I smile when I see Johnathan.

"Hey, Juliet." he purrs. I blush and walk up to him.

"So what are we doing for the interviews?" I ask.

"Something that'll make you look hot." he says with a smirk. I notice Blake's fists clench and I can't resist it.

"Hotter than you?" I ask with a grin.

Johnathan tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "Much, my lovely."

"Get away from her." Blake's voice is deep, scary, and I can't help but think kind of raspy and hot at the same time. Johnathan scoots his hand to my cheek and pets it barely. "Get away from her or you'll regret it."

"This coming from a guy who will die in a few days." he says.

"Well at least I'm not the guy who could die now." he replies angrily. Blake throws the first punch but I block it. He tries to throw another one but I block that one too.

"Stop it." I say, my voice low.

Johnathan tries to throw another punch and I block it with ease. 'Knock it off you two. I mean it." They both glare at me but then pass dirty looks to eachother. "Johnathan, we should probably get readt for the interviews. They are in a few hours."

He nods and starts walking slowly but angrily. I go up to Blake and kiss him slightly on the cheek. "Bye Sweetie." Then I leave towards Johnathan. I can tell he's mad about the entire situation so I say, "Look, I'm sorry about that..." but he continues to walk.

"Hey," I say taking his hand but he pulls it away angrily. "Johnathan, why are you mad at me?"

He stops and spins around. "If I could be any guy in the world, I would want to be Blake. He has it so easy with you. That's why I'm mad!" Then his eyes widen at the words that came out and mine do too. We continue to walk and basically the whole make-up thing is silent. The hair well, Jessica didn't want to do it this time so that's silent too. Then Johnathan hands me a pile of clothes. A gorgeous black wedding gown, a black tiara, and a pair of strappy high heels. On top there is a pearl necklace that is made of real pearls. Not the fake stuff.

"Change." he says with a glare. I nod and change into the gown and Jessica wraps the pearl necklace around my neck carefully.

"Why is he mad at me?" I ask.

"He loves you. You don't love him." she says.

"I doubt that." I say quietly. She shakes her head.

"No, it's true. Last night he told me, 'If I ever had the oppurtunity to spend the rest of my life with someone, I'd want it to be Jadie. She's just everything that I've ever wanted.' and some other stuff that I can't remember." I notice Johnathan coming over to me and Jessica leaves awkwardly.

"Hi." I say shyly.

"Look, remember your angle. You'll have to work with it. Exagerate your angle. That's a good way to win the Capitol. Now good luck." he's gone almost as soon as he was there.

"Great wat to treat the love of your life." I mumble. That's when I can tell that he heard me but right now, I really could care less.

"I'm sorry." he says angrily before he leaves. I head downstairs to the main lobby to find it packed with people. I then make my way to teh ballroom which is now packed with camera crews and other people. I decide to sit next to Blake and another guy who I must say, is amazingly gorgeous with his stunning brown eyes and his smile that practically makes me melt just watching it form. District Eleven. Amazing.

"Hey." I say to Blake.

He smiles a little but I can tell that he's nervous. "Hey." He reaches for my hand and I entwine my fingers around his. "My angle is being love-struck." he says petting my hand.

I smile slightly and kiss him lightly on the cheek. "Well, I'll help you on that angle." I purr. After a while, Caesar gets through the peoples names and I swear I am dying of boredom. The guy in district eleven, I learn, name is Nick Jammison. His angle is obviously funny with all of the jokes he makes. I laugh at everyone of them because well..it's cute to see Blake look kind of jealous. I smile and place my shoe on top of his then he places his other foot on top of mine and I do the same with my other one. When it's my turn to go up, I smile and wave to the audience as I give Caesar a hug.

"Why welcome, Jadie! How is your visit to the Capitol going?" Caesar says.

I smile and giggle, most likely looking like a total idiot. "It's going great. I mean, the people here are wonderful, and I love the food. Besides, I am also addicted to Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I say. Caesar laughs and I notice the Nick laughing too.

"Who's your favorite charecter on that show?" he asks curiously.

I give a mischevious smile as I answer this. "Angel. Spike is really close though." I notice Blake nod with a grin.

"And I must ask, do you have a boyfriend of your own?"

I think about this. We're not official or anything. I mean, not really. Are we? "I can deffinetly say that I have strong feelings for someone."

Caesar nods slightly. "Well, better get home to him right?" The crowd chears but I feel very uncomfortable and I notice Blake does as well.

"Well, winning wouldn't help my cause. The man I'm in love with...well...I plan on not winning lets just say that." I say staring at the floor.

"Who is it?" he asks. Really Caesar?

"He's charming, handsome, poetic, kind, caring, and he puts up with all of the stupid shows that I watch." I say with a laugh.

Caesar's voice you can tell is in pain when he asks, "Is it Blake?"

My heart almost drops. I nod slightly and the crowd gasps. "Yes."

Caesar is trying hard not to cry at the moment. I can tell. "I am so sorry."

"It's...I know you are. It'll be okay I hope."

"So what are your battle strategies for the games?" he asks. I stare at him, my face way more serious than I ever thought it could be.

"I'm going to do everything that I can to keep him alive."

The buzzer sounds and I return to my seat awkwardly and I hear Nick murmur something in my ear, though I can't quite catch it. Blake walks onto the stage and shifts in his seat and puts on the fakest smile that I have ever seen anyone put on.

"So that was news." Caesar says.

Blake kind of nods and kind of shakes his head. "I love her, Caesar. More than I love my life. She is my life. She is my world. If she dies then I will too. You don't understand that."

"I do, Blake. What is your favorite part about her?" he asks.

"Her eyes. Her dark and beautiful brown eyes that change color depending on where you're at. First glance, they're brown. Then the sun shines on her, they turn a dark green. But when the clouds overwhelm her face, they are an ocean like shade of blue. That's my favorite." My jaw drops.

"And the Buffy the Vampire Slayer show...you must be an amazing boyfriend to sit there and watch it with her." Caesar says, attempting to lighten the mood. Blake laughs.

"I hate that show with such an extreme passion but I love it when there's a sad episode. I love the sad ones." he says.

Ceasar laughs. "Why the sad ones?"

"Because that's when I get the hugs and the kisses of course." Blake answers with a small chuckle and I find myself smiling. Then I hear something that Nick mumbles to himself.

"He doesn't deserve her." is what it is. I have to pretend I didn't hear that.

"Well the hugs and kisses are always great aren't they?" Ceasar says with a laugh. "And what about battle strategy. What is yours?" 

Blake turns to him, his face suddenly serious. "I plan on keeping her alive. She won't die. I don't plan on making it back." he says. The buzzer rings and he comes back to his seat. When we are dismissed, I walk upstairs with Blake at my side.

"Well, tomorrow is training. Then the next day is as well. Then we have to preform. And then we're going to the games. We might as well enjoy some of the time we have together." Blake says. I nod.

"I guess the ballroom is going to be set up in a dance or something tonight at eleven. Do you want to go? It is for us afterall..." I say. Blake smiles.

"I'm horrible at dancing."

"So am I. Come on, let's just go anyway. We may meet people that could be allies in the games too." I say.

"Please don't bring up the games." he says.

I smile. "Okay. Come on, we might as well have some fun."

Blake nods and we walk up to our suite. I change from my wedding gown into a strapless baby blue dress and sparkling baby blue flats. Then I braid my hair on the side and get out to find Blake dressed in a tuxedo. He looks amazing.

"So, Eleven is in two hours. Want to watch Buffy for a while or something?" he asks.

I nod and turn on the television to find season four playing. I grin and lounge on the couch. It's a sad episode. No, multiple sad episodes. That's when I remember the interview. "Now they're probably only going to play sad episodes." I say with a laugh.

Blake raises his eyebrows. "Oh really?" he comes into my arms and I accept the warm hug. Checking the time, I realize that it's ten. One more hour. Blakes arms move down to my waist and his grip tightens. His lips move to my neck, kissing ever so softly. Up my neck, up to my cheek, then to my lips and then back down to my neck. I begin to repay his soft kisses. He seats me on the couch and our lips continue to touch softly. My arms move up to his neck and I begin to get more fearless within each kiss.

His hand moves to my head and the back of my head rests on it. I begin to feel almost greedy for more of his kisses. When I finally pull away, my heart is pounding against my chest. I struggle to catch my breath but finally do. I slowly sit up and stare into Blake's gorgeous eyes. "Come on, we'll get there early. We're in the games so I don't think they'll care." I say.

Blake nods and we head downstairs, hands clasped together.


	6. Chapter 6 Dancing

When we go into the ballroom, we notice that the entire place is packed with tributes. Good thing we came early. I walk up to the punch bowl and smile when I see Nick. Blake comes up next to me and hugs me from behind. I smile up at him and I give him a kiss on the cheek.

Nick comes over and begins to talk as if we've known eachother forever. He's really easy to talk to actually. "Hey, Jadie." he says.

"Um..hi. It's Nick, right?" I ask. He nods and shines his smile at me. "This is Blake." Nick and Blake exchange looks and then Nick's focus goes back on me.

"So, you're from District 12?" he asks. I nod. "How is it?"

"Horrible. But I get used to it." I say, my voice low so no cameras can pick it up. "How about in District 11?"

"Terrible. It's hot, painful, and there aren't any pretty girls..." he says eyeing me. Blake, I can sense, is getting irritated and gently takes my hand. "I also miss the fact that you know...never mind. Anyway, how are you actually liking the Capitol?"

"Fine. I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the people...well they're okay I guess." my voice is still quiet.

"Yeah. I agree." he says. I bite into a cupcake and end up getting frosting on my face and laugh. Blake gets a napkin and dabs it around my mouth.

"Thanks." I say when I finish swallowing. Blake smiles a little.

"Hey do you want to be allies in the games?" Nick asks.

Blake is about ready to respond but I say, "Sure." Nick smiles a little and thanks me. "So, have you found any other allies?" I ask.

"Well, I found one for sure, and another possible one." he says. A song turns on and I stare at Blake.

"Want to dance?" I ask.

"Um...sure." he answers.

"Don't sound too enthusiastic or anything." I say with a laugh.

"Awww you want enthusiasim?"

"Yes." I answer. "Would you like to go dance?"

"Heck no!" he says, smiling. I grin and drag him out to the middle of the floor. We spin in circles for a while, my head on his chest, his arms around my waist.

"You realize that this whole romance thing is going to be our battle strategy, right?" he asks.

I sigh. "Yes. We'll have to exagerate it or something."

"Yeah." he answers. "Although what you think exageration is, I'll be enjoying it the rest of my life." he says in a whisper.

I smile and feel tears pool in my eyes. "Don't say the rest of your life. Please don't say that." I beg.

"I don't plan on making it back sweetheart." he says. "You'll win."

"No. No that's not true." I'm seriously about to ball right now.

"Sweetheart, I love you so much. That is why I can't let you..won't let you die." I pull away.

"If this is what you're going to talk about then I'm leaving." I say.

He tries to grab my hand but I pull it away. "I don't want you to go." he says in his deep voice.

"Then let's not talk about this okay? Not right now." I say. He nods and I walk back into his arms and we spin for about ten minutes and then Nick comes up to us with a girl and two guys.

"Hey. I wanted to introduce you to Evangeline, Scott, and Jared." I smile and Blake does as well.

"Nice to meet you." Blake says in his usual polite tone.

The girl, Evangeline has gorgeous dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and is wearing a striped navy blue and gray dress. She is way prettier than I am and even Blake is staring at her but I don't care. "Hey, Jadie. You can call me Angie." she says holding out her hand. I shake it and Blake is about ready to shake her hand when she pulls it away. "Hold hands with your girlfriend."

He laughs and takes my hand softly. "There we go." she says with a laugh. "This is Scott." she says pointing to the guy with blonde hair, bright, almost electric blue eyes, and a fedora. He smiles and holds out his hand.I attempt to shake it but Angie's hand blocks me. I laugh and try to shake it again but her hand is placed in the middle of ours.

I smile and turn to the other guy. He is...wow. He has beautiful dark brown eyes, skater brown hair, and that smile. Whoa. "Um...hi." I murmur quietly.

He smiles at me. "Hey, Jadie." His voice, so smoothe so...so perfect. I reach for his hand and I don't get blocked this time. "I'm Jared." Oh wow. I am going to melt in a puddle here soon.

"Nice to meet you." I feel my knees buckle, my voice crack, my eyes create images that I'm not used to seeing. His eyes stare into mine momentarily. So so brown. "So what district are you from?" I ask.

"Oh, District Three." he answers. I nod, feeling my hands shake. That's when I realize that our hands are still together. I blush and pull mine away. "I was kind of enjoying that." he says. I smile a little.

"Um...Jared?" I hear Angie ask. "She has a boyfriend."

He smiles. "Maybe for now." Blake's grip tightens on my hands.

"Ouch." I murmur. He loosens it a little but my hand is probably cherry red right now.

"Want to dance?" Jared asks me. I stare at Blake, and he reluctantly nods. I smile a little, kiss him on the cheek and head out with Jared to the middle of the ballroom.

"So, lovely, how have you been liking the Capitol?" he asks as we spin to a slow song.

"It's okay. I mean, I'd rather my family be here and the whole life and death thing be gone but it's nice." I say with a shrug. "And you?"

"Well, I was hating it but then I met you." he purrs. I feel my entire body shake again. Great.

"You really know how to make things work for you, don't you?" I say with a smile.

"Actually girls have never been on my main list." he says. "But I have to warn you, I will get you to kiss me at least one time before I die."

"What makes you so sure of that?" I ask. He grins.

"I never said why, I just made a promise. However the kiss occurs. that's up to you, but eventually you'll kiss me." He says. I smile up into those eyes. So dark, so brown. Not just brown, but the best shade of brown. It's almost like oaktree brown.

"Don't try and get me to fall in love with you, because if you do you'll be sadly dissappointed." I say.

"Why's that?" he asks.

"Because I love Blake." I say. That was kind of obvious considering I had just said that on television a few hours ago.

"Ah yes. Well, he's just a minor issue, my dear." he says with a smile. He must be kidding. He has to be kidding.

"Sure." I say sarcastically. "So I'm guessing you're another ally in the games?" I ask.

"Yep." he answers. I can't help smile at his level of cockiness. It's kind of funny to watch him actually. "And Scott and Nick are too. Blake is obviously one, right?

Actually that thought never occured to me. I'm guessing he is. I'd want him to be one to protect him, and he'd want to be one to protect me. I nod slightly.

"Hey Sweetheart," I hear Blake murmur from behind me.

"Hey," I say, breaking away from Jared. I give Blake a hug and we begin to dance once again. In and out, steps beginning to look like actual steps. I start forgetting that this isn't a fairytale. That this is real life. That life itself for me will most likely end. I can't do this. I can't pretend that I am in love with the Capitol. That life is fine. That everything will turn out okay. No. I won't allow these horrible people to control my mind like this. That's when I feel my foot step on his.

"Sorry." I mutter as I find the tempo in the music once again. This is what this stupid and selfish country does. It tears friendships apart, seperates people, destroys lives.

"Ouch." I hear Blake say. I notice my shoe is on his again.

"Sorry." I mmutter. He stops me and carresses my cheek.

"Are you okay, Sweetheart?" he asks. I nod and try to get back to dancing but he stops me. I can tell he knows that something is wrong. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." I answered way too soon. He looks at me suspiciously.

"Tell me when we head back up okay?"

"Okay." I say. He smiles, making me feel warm inside.

"Jadie?" Blake purrs. I turn my head to him slowly with a small smile.

"Yes?" I ask.

"May I have permission?" he asks.

"To do what?" I ask, suddenly somewhat nervous.

"To kiss you. To give you a real kiss?" He asks. A real kiss?

"The kisses in the suite weren't real?" I ask.

"Not as real as the one I want to give you. May I?" he asks. I smile.

"Of course you may." I answer. He smiles and leans in, when our lips touch, he pulls me into his chest. His lips, so warm and soft, gently rest on mine. His hand goes up to my hair and brushes a piece dangling infront of me. I allow my eyes to close and begin to relax. The kiss seems like forever and not very long all at once. When I pull away, I smile. "That was real." Blake smiles and gives me another kiss but smaller.

"Great." he murmurs.

"Hey guys." Angie's voice rings in my ears.

"Hey," Blake and I say in unison, my voice lovestruck. Partly intentional but also partly accidentally.

"So...what's going on?" she asks.

I smile. "Not much." I check the time and find it almost midnight. "So, when should we head back up?" I ask.

"I don't know. Maybe in an hour or so." he says.

I notice a girl, maybe twelve or so, sitting alone at the entree table. She has gorgeous blonde hair and has the sweetest looking face. I walk up to her and take a cupcake. That's when I notice that she's in tears. "Um...are you okay?" I ask. She looks up at me with shining bright blue eyes.

"I don't have any allies or anything. I'm going to die so quickly." she says rubbing the tears off of her eyes. I shouldn't be partnering up with her. She would slow me down. Make me weaker but...

"Do you want to be our ally?" I ask. She looks up at me, eyes wide.

"Really?" she asks. I nod and offer her my hand. She accepts it and we walk up to Angie.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"I'm Haven." she says quietly. I smile.

"Hey, Angie?" I ask. She turns to me, frosting coating her mouth and I laugh. I hand her a napkin and she whipes it off. "Do you mind if Haven joins our alliance?"

"Sure. I'm Evangeline. You can call me Angie." she says sweetly. Haven smiles and hugs me.

"Thanks." she says. Scott comes up to her and starts talking with her so I go back to Blake. Or attempt to.

"Hey sweetheart." I turn to Nick's voice. I put on a grin.

"Hello. Can I help you?" I ask. He grins and raises his eyebrows.

"Possibly. I'll tell you at training tomorrow." he says. I nod and he walks off. Wow.

I come up to the table and take a cupcake. So beautifully decorated and stacked with frosting. I smile with glee as I take a bite. I gently pick a piece of candy off of the cupcake and pop it in my mouth. I feel the muscular arms of Blake wrap around me from behind. "Hey," he says.

I smile. "Hello." He kisses me on the cheek and I accept it with pleasure not hidden. "Want to head up?" I ask. Blake nods and takes my hand. His eyes look heavy and I'm tired too. We say goodbye to our allies and walk out. I can't use the word friends because it will get me way too attatched.

We walk to the glass elevaters and go up to our suite. We end up laying on the couch, watching another sad episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and falling asleep with my head in his lap and his hand behind my ear. Then my dream happens.


	7. Chapter 7 Dreaming and Training and Nick

_I'm in the Games, my hair is swept in front of my eyes, my palms brown from the dirt. I notice that I am laying down near a fire. Blake is there but only for a moment. I want to stand up but all I can do is sit. I feel my palms being taken by someone's. That someone is Nick. His eyes, so dark brown, stare into mine. My hands manage to shake a little but that's it. _

_I smile at him and he smiles back. I realize that we are facing a river. My feet rest in the cold water. The icy cold water. Nick brushes a piece of hair out from my eyes and gently kisses me on the forehead. His shirt is taken off and is tied to his jeans which are filthy. This is when I realize his six pack. Wow. His skin is tan but his chest scraped and scarred. _

_I hear his whisper in my ear, "I love you, Jadie." I feel warm by his whisper. By his entire body being near mine. By him. I close my eyes and keep them closed for a while but then lift them to see his eyes still gazing at my face. He takes me in a hug and then beigns to kiss me. My neck, my face, and eventually my lips. His hands press my cheeks slightly. When he breaks away, I pull him back in._

_"Don't." I mutter. He begins to kiss me once again. His eyes close as do mine and he pulls away after a few minutes._

_"You are my life, Jadie." he purrs. I shiver at the purity in his voice._

_"And you are mine." I reply in a whisper. He takes me back in again, my hands pressed against his chest. I do not feel as if I am in a dangerous position. I feel like, for the very first time, I am free. Like if I leave him, I will never be free again. This is why I cherish every kiss. Then I notice my heart skipping beats. I feel warm. I feel brave. I feel like I am able to be who I am for the first time with out any judgements being held against me._

_He pulls away and I feel him put on a small piece of gauze from a first aid kit on a scrape that runs down my leg. Then, as if my mother trying to make it heal, he kisses the scrape. My body shivers and I lay back down. "Please don't make me force you down here." I say. He smiles and begins to kiss me once again. He kneels next to me, kissing my lips. Then he stands up and picks me up. _

_"We need to keep moving." is what he says. I nod and let myself be carried by him. When he kisses me one last time, I awake._

My eyes flutter open and I feel Blake next to me. My eyes focus on the television, which is still loaded with Buffy. I smile and pull him down for a kiss. When I break away he smiles. "Good morning to you, too."

I gently finger his jaw bone and kiss him one more time before getting up. What was up with that dream? I hardly even know Nick much less...much less kiss him. I mean...really. I change into a pair of black skinnys and a white tunic with a black belt and a pair of black boots. I quickly straighten my hair and when I get out of the bathroom, I notice Blake dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a dark gray t-shirt. I smile and come up to him and in one quick motion, he spins me around and kisses me, my body lay in his arms. I pull away and smile.

"We should get some breakfast that way the training center won't be such a horrible thing to go into." I say. Blake nods and orders some pancakes and waffles. When we're done, we head down to the center and find all of our allies standing together.

"Hey," I say, taking Blake's hand. We walk there together and we all start talking about strategies.

"Well, I'm pretty good with a knife." Angie says.

"I'm good with a bow and arrows." I say.

"Yeah I'm good with knives and swords." Blake says.

"And I'm good at spears and stuff." Scott says. I notice Nick talking with Haven, his brown eyes darkning then turning into a milky kind of brown, and then back to normal. His eyes, as if staring into my soul, turn to me. 

"Oh hi, Jadie." he says sweetly. I'm so lost in thought, he has to repeat his hello.

"Oh, hi." I say feeling embarrassed. He just smiles a little and then continues talking to Haven. That's when I realize that I'm actually _gazing_ at him. His head turns again. He must think that I'm a total freak.

"Hey, I'm heading to the archery station. Care to join me?" he says in his deep voice. I turn to Blake and he nods. So, I follow and end up hitting every target. All of the sudden, I feel Nick's hand on my shoulder. "Easy, now. Just relax a little." his voice is so soothing.

I do as I am told and lossen my grip. "Now, just remember a dream or something. Then just relax and let the arrow fly." he purrs. A dream? The dream? I'm beginning to wonder if it was a dream or a nightmare. I love Blake a lot but I mean...in that dream I felt like I was in Heaven. Why though? I shouldn't be thinking about him in that way. I really shouldn't.

His hand still rests on my shoulder so comfortably that I feel amazing. "There you go." he murmurs in my ear. I pull my arrow back and it shoots in the center on the target. "Beautiful."

My body trembles as his breath reaches my neck. My bow shakes a little but I don't care. "How do you manage to do that?" I ask. He gives me a curious look.

"Do what?" he asks, his voice innocent.

"Make me feel...oh never mind." I say. He looks at me with those amazing brown eyes.

"Do what?" he repeats. I sigh.

"Nothing." I say, shooting another arrow, but this time, missing the target.

"Whoa. Dream." he reminds me.

"Why? Just because in that dream you kissed me? In that dream, you loved me?" I ask accusingly, immediately regretting the words as they come out. His eyes look at my face, as if looking for any form of joke in that comment but I've always been horrible at lying.

"What?" he says, his eyes still showing confusion. I sigh and let an arrow go, not paying attention and almost shoot a gamemaker.

"Sorry," I hollar. The gamemaker just laughs and walks away.

"Please tell me what's going on." Nick begs practically.

I sigh. "I don't know." I answer truthfully. He lets out a groan and shoots an arrow, making the target perfectly. I decide to put the bow down and go to a corner to sit and relax for a while. As I am walking I can hear Nick's footsteps behind me. I notice that I am almost hidden from the main training part of the center. He suddenly pushes me to the wall and blocks me from moving any further with his arm.

He leans his head in so our foreheads almost touch. "What is going on with you?" he asks. I shake my head and try to leave but I can't. "No, Juliet." he says.

"Juliet?" I ask. He rolls his eyes.

"I know that's your real name. I saw it on Caesar's clipboard. Why do you go by Jadie?" he asks. I sigh, recognising the truth of it all.

"Because I hate the name Juliet." I say.

"Why? It suits you." he says sweetly. I shake my head.

"It really doesn't. It just makes me want to be more like a person in a fairytale. I'll never be that person." I say. "Now can I go?"

"No." he says. I sigh and look him in the eyes. Big mistake. His eyes make me lose myself in thought. His lips touching mine in that dream. Should that be real? Do I wish it was real? "Julie?"

"Don't call me that." I say. He looks at me.

"Fine. Tell me what is going on."

"Ugh! I hate it when you do this!" I practically shout.

"When I do what?" he asks, his voice is raised as well.

"Everything!" I say in the same tone.

"You need to be more specific than that, Juliet!" his voice is still raised. "Otherwise I can't fix what I'm doing."

I try and shove his arm out of the way but I'm still trapped. "Let me go." I say in a deep voice.

"No. Not until you tell me what I am doing to tick you off." he says.

Tears pool in my eyes. "You make me wish I was good enough for you! That's what you're doing! You're making my self esteem lower and it's ticking me off because I know that I can never live up to you!" I shove his chest as hard as I can and he backs away. I shoot him the dirtiest look I can manage and walk off. The next station I go to is rope tying considering I don't think it's safe for me or anyone to have me near knives.

I tie knots quickly and am surprised to see that I'm actually good at it. It begins to get really boring so I leave and sadly walk to Blake and kiss him on the cheek. "Hey, sweetie. I'm going to learn how to kill people with a knife." I say with a mischevious smile.

"Oh no." he says with a smile.

"Oh yes. I'll catch up with you later, 'kay?" I ask with a small smile.

"Okay." he says. I leave and sigh when Nick is there. Really? Now?

"Hey." he says but I totally blow him off and throw knives onto tables but miss each target.

"Darn it." I mutter as another one misses.

"Do you want-"

"No." I cut him off. He looks at me and then nods.

"Okay." I throw another one but it misses horribly. "Ugh!" I yell and throw the knife on the ground with as much power as I can manage.

"Hey, relax." he says coming up to me. His arms wrap around me in an embrace. I immidiately burst into tears. "Shhh." he murmurs. I cry into his striped sweatshirt sleeve but I don't think he minds. I finally begin to calm down.

"You okay?" he asks. I nod and look into his beautiful brown eyes. "I do love you." he mutters but pretend that I don't hear it. He looks at me.

His voice, the way he said it, was exactly like it was in the dream. The silky voice, warm and gorgeous and so pure. "Huh?" I ask, hoping for a 'never mind.'

But instead I get an, "I said that I do love you."

My eyes widen. "Why?" I ask.

"Many reasons. You're gorgeous, cute, funny, amazing to be around, stunning, and you always manage to take my breath away."

"We just met." I say. He stares at me.

"That's how I know." he says. My hands shake and my heart begins to beat quicker. "That and I am always captivated by you."

I don't know what to say at all. I mean, really. What can I say?

"I know you love Blake." he says. "And I'm fine with that. I just need you to know that I will risk everything in the games to keep you alive. Including my life."

I hug him almost immidiately. He accepts it and whispers in my ear, "You will always be my Juliet."

I walk away with out a word and spend the next few hours training in the archery station and then head back upstairs with Blake at my side. "What's wrong?" he finally asks.

"Long story." I say.

He smiles. "Well I have a lot of time." he murmurs.

I shake my head. "It's nothing. I'm going to bed." I start to my room but he grabs my hand.

"Are you mad at me?" he asks. I shake my head and kiss him.

"Never." I say, breaking away. Blake smiles and I walk to my room and close my eyes, praying that I won't get another dream.


	8. Chapter 8 The Hunger Games

The next few days are spent training and trying to avoid Nick for me. As I am presenting what I can do, I knock down every target the gamemakers throw up for me with my arrows. They smile and dismiss me.

"How'd you do?" Blake asks. I smile.

"I think pretty well." I answer. "You?"

"I did pretty okay. I threw knives and that kind of thing." he says. I nod and take his hand as we head back upstairs to eat. Tomorrow are the Games. We will get taken there by helicopters. At least we have a good group of allies.

I stare at the t.v. eager for my training score. Nick got an eleven, Angie got a ten, Haven got an..eleven. Wow. And Blake's name comes up with an eleven and I come out with a...what? Really? A twelve. Whoa. My eyes widen and I totally space out. A twelve? "There must have been some mistake..." I say pacing in the room. "There's no way, no freaking way."

"Good...good job." Blake's even amazed. "How..what did you do?"

I take time before answering this question. I mean, how did I even manage that? Seriously, all I did was shoot arrows. That doesn't prove my capibility of doing anything. I sigh. How? "I shot arrows at targets." I say. "That's all. How did I? I mean...how?" I keep muttering to myself about things and then fall on the couch with my head cupped in my hands. "Well, I'm going to bed." I say finally.

"Can I...you know.." Blake starts. I nod because this is our last time to sleep in peace. Tomorrow is the day that I could die.

"Yeah." I murmur. He smiles and walks into my room and we lay on the bed. His eyes are close to mine, my hands playing with his soft hair, his in my palms.

"So, what are the plans for tomorrow?" he asks.

"Run together. Try to run as fast as you can. Only grab what you need. And whatever you do, do not risk your life for me." I say.

"Can't promise the last one but the other ones, okay." he says. I kiss him on the lips and close my eyes and fall asleep.

The next morning, I awake to Blake's sweet voice saying that we need to get ready. I sigh and get into a pair of jean shorts and a white t-shirt. I wait for Blake to change as well and when he walks out I pull him in for a long hug. I feel tears threatning to come down my cheeks and he can sense it too. Blake lifts my chin up to him and kisses me on the forehead. "It'll be okay."

But I know that it won't be. How could it be? Really what is the positive side to this? There is no positive side. Nothing about this situation is good. Nothing at all. "It won't be but thanks for trying." I say pathetically.

"Come on, we have to go back to our designers. I'll walk you there." he says. I nod and hold his hand as we walk to the elevater. "I love you." he purrs.

"I love you too." I put on the fakest smile as I can manage as the elevater door closes, himself hiding with it. I feel tears pool in my eyes and erase the wetness off of my eyes as I see Johnathan but his face, I can tell, has been through tears as well. His eyes are surrounded by red. He opens his arms and I run full sprint into them and begin to ball. His gentle hand moves up and down my back and he murmurs soothing things, though I don't pay attention to what they are.

"Shhh..." he murmurs but I continue to cry. "I know, sweetheart, I know." He leads me to the make-up room, my arms still around him. When the door closes he sets me on a chair and still hugs me.

"Why do they do this?" I cry. "How do they find enjoyment off of this?"

"I don't know." he says. His lips kiss me on my hair and he hugs me for about fifteen more minutes until I finally calm down. "Before I get you ready, I need to talk to you."

"About what?" I ask, my voice still shaky.

"My feelings towards you." he answers. His voice is beginning to crack. "I want to appologise for the last time that I saw you. I was a jerk. I need to tell you why."

I sigh. "Why?"

"Because, Juliet, I love you more than anything. I know that I am nothing compared to Blake, and I know that but, I love you so much and I need you to know that." tears begin to come down his cheeks. "You can't die." he says.

"I can't make any promis-" I start.

"You have to." he says. "That is the only way that I can live with out you."

"That means that I swear that I'd make it back. You wouldn't be living with out me." I say.

"Exactly." he brushes a piece of my hair out from my eyes. "Put these on for me." he says. He hands me a pair of brown jeans, a black shirt, black jacket, and a pair of brown boots. I nod and he tries to leave but I grab his hand.

"Please stay." I beg. He nods and sits on the chair. I turn my back and quickly pull on my clothes and he hugs me for a long time.

"Please try to win for me." he says.

"I will." I say. I look up and stare into his eyes. The speaker says that I need to be in the arena in five minutes. I stare into Johnathan's eyes.

"I guess this is good-" I pull the collar of his shirt and kiss him for a long time and come out to breathe.

"Bye." I finish. He nods, his eyes still alert.

"Thank you." he says. I nod and sigh. "Win."

"I'll try. Bye Johnathan." I say. I get into the glass cylinder.

"Goodbye Juliet." He blows me a small kiss and I return it.

I arise on the plate and get in my ready position, giving both Nick and Blake a glance and they nod. The arena is all forest. This works for me because I'm used to hunting in forests. The gong sounds and I run full sprint to the backpacks and the supplies. I throw a larger black backpack over my shoulder and run to the right. I point to the direction and Angie stares at me, still running and nodding. A knife whizzes past my head and find it's way into a tree. I grab it out and look at the weapon choices. A sword, a spear, a few knives, and..a bow and sheath of arrows. Perfect.

I throw those over my shoulder and race to the right with Angie near me and Nick behind me. Blake is still behind so I slow myself down and then sprint when he's beside me. "Run!" I shout. We both race as fast as we can, darting people's weapons that are getting nearer to us. I duck under a tree and skid on the ground but quickly get up and continue running. When we're a good distance away from the main spot, we all begin to make camp because it will most likely get dark out soon.

"I'll gather wood for the fire." I say.

"No I've got that." Nick says.

"Okay then, I'll gather vines for the covering." I say.

"I've got that too." Blake says.

"Okay then maybe I'll go out and hunt."

"I'm doing that right now." Angie says. I turn to her and she gives me a smirk. 

"Well what do I do?" I ask, somewhat irritated.

"You can keep me company." I turn to see Jared. I smile and give him a hug. "Hey, Sweetie."

"You made it." I say in relief.

"Yep." he says. "I'm going to go and fill up the water containers. Want to come?" I nod and Blake tries to argue.

"Well, he's the only one inviting me to do anything." I say with a snobby tone. Jared laughs and we walk to the stream and begin to fill up the containers and drop iodine to clean it.

"So, how did you make it out?" he asks. I smile.

"It was pretty easy, all I did was try not to die." I say with a laugh. Then my face turns serious. "Where's Haven?" That's when she appears behind the bush.

"Hi." she says sweetly. "They told me that you were down here." I smile and nod a little.

"You found us." I say. She smiles and takes a seat next to me.

"Thanks again."

"No big deal." I say with a small smile. Haven's eyes shift accross the water.

"I'm going to help Nick with the firewood. See you around." she says getting up. I nod and turn to Jared.

"Need anymore help?" I ask. He shakes his head and I get up. "I'm going to help Blake with the vines."

Jared's hand gently grasps my wrist. "Be careful." he purrs. I nod and walk away. That's when another cannon shot, signalling death, goes off. I turn to make sure that he's okay and he is. He must have had the same idea about me because our eyes both meet eachother.

"Come with me?" I ask. He nods and takes the water containers and we head back to our camp. That's when I see him. I know those gorgeous brown eyes anywhere. "Hey," I say approaching Nick and Blake.

"You just remember that this is competition to the death, Nick." Blake growls and walks away. I notice a bruise on Nick's cheek.

"My God, are you okay?" I ask in shock.

"Yeah." he says rubbing it. I still stare at him because that bruise does not look good. "I'm seriously okay."

I smile and begin to find vines for the shelter. Soon, I get about twenty big ones so I stop to take a break and sit on the edge of the river. I smile as Nick comes next to me and takes a seat. "Hi." I murmur, playing with a piece of green grass.

"Hey," he sounds almost out of breath. "You know that stuff you told me a few days ago?" Oh great. "Was what you felt real?"

I sigh. It was. All of it. I was mad because he was so...so perfect. "Yes." I say, knowing that I am unable to lie anyway. He smiles.

"Just to let you know, none of that was true. You are." he says. I know exactly what he means. He means that I am god enough for him. That I am perfect for him. Am I?

"That is a total lie." I say, but blushing as I do.

"Are you sure? Really, just think about it." he purrs. "I mean, you have the most gorgeous eyes, the most stunning smile, the perfect face...shall I go on?"

I smile a little but don't say anything except for, "How much do you know about me?"

"Let's see, you are insecure about showing too much of your legs, you hate it when people get you cornered and you have no way of escaping, and your favorite show is Buffy the Vampire Slayer." he says. I smile.

"Okay the last one was a no brainer. Who's my favorite charecter and why?" I ask.

"Angel because he is mysterious, he is calm, and loves Buffy the way you want someone to love you." he answers. Whoa.

"Um..how did you know that?" I ask. Nick's lips turn into a gentle smile.

"How could I not know that?" he asks. I allow a small laugh. His eyes watch me and he smiles too.

"What happened? Your bruise I mean." I ask.

"Oh, Blake heard me talking to Evangeline about me...um...well he got upset." I can tell he doesn't want to discuss it but I do.

"Talking about what?" I ask. He shakes his head but I take his hand which makes me feel warm inside. "Well?"

"Me being in love with you." he says. There goes another blush right on cue. Night slowly begins to fall and I end up falling asleep on the grass near the water. I feel Nick pick me up and pull me into the shelter and lay me near Blake. My eyes barely flutter but I see him for a quick second kissing me on the forehead. "Goodnight, my Juliet."


	9. Chapter 9 The Truth

When I wake up the next morning, I feel my arm being set on Blake's lap. "Morning, Sweetheart." he purrs. I smile and kiss him on the cheek.

"Morning." I say with a smile. He grins and gets up. I stretch and realize that everyone else was awake way before us.

"So, are we going to keep moving?" I ask. Angie turns to me.

"Um...I don't know. We could I guess." she says with a shrug.

"I almost think that we have to. We chose kind of an obvious spot." Haven says. I nod and so does Nick, who looks majorly tired.

"It would be best. Okay so I'll stand by Jul- I mean Jadie, and Blake can too that way she's majorly protected. Then Jared, you can walk behind her. Haven, we're going to have Angie staying by you.

"Okay." she says with a nod. "What about Scott?"

Scott turns to us. "I'll stand by Angie." he says. I nod grab my backpack. I haven't even checked it yet but I'll do that when I get to the next spot. The minute we start walking I feel way too surrounded by people.

"Okay, here's how it's going to work. You are going to be at least one foot away from me." I say. Jared listens so I smile and give him a hug. Then Blake is second so I kiss him and Nick shakes his head.

"No I am not going to be pursuaded." he says, arms crossed. I widen my eyes and blink, trying to mock a puppy's but it doesn't work. "No." I sigh and allow him to be stay by me. We walk for a few hours and then take a break near a group of willow trees. I lay down on a bed of grass and smile as Nick comes up to me.

"Hey," he says with a smile.

"Hey." I pause. "Where's Blake?"

He smiles. "Getting water." I nod and sit up. "How are you doing? First day at the games?"

I give him a small smile. "Tired. So so tired." Then I notice the rings around his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I am." he says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You sure?" I ask suspiciously.

"I'm positive." he tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I love you."

"Okay." I say. Okay? What? I mean, really Juliet, you could do so much better than that. You could've given him a, 'thank you.' Or at least a smile but an 'I know.'? How horrible do I sound?

He just smiles and leans in close to my neck, his breath warm and calm. "I only wish that you could feel how I do about that answer." he purrs. I shudder and he grips my hands softly. Enchantment. That's what I feel when I'm around him. I feel enchanted.

His lips move away from me and he gives me a really sweet smile that makes me feel really guilty. "When you decide who you love more, tell me okay?" he asks. I nod and he stands up and offers me his hand. I take it and stand as well.

"It's not exactly who I love more but when the time comes to decide who I belong with, I'll tell you." I say. He gives me a small nod and we stand in total silence for a few minutes.

Until he says, "You know, just because you don't think of yourself as gorgeous, or beautiful, doesn't mean that I don't. You almost won me over with those puppy dog eyes but I need to protect you. Promise me that you'll try and win." I nod but don't understand why he's bringing this up now.

"I will try." I say. Nick hugs me and strangely, I accept it. When I walk out of his arms his eyes sadden.

"Come on, we should keep moving." he says, his voice sad. I nod and we return back to where the others on to find Angie and Blake arguing.

"What is your deal? You have a girlfriend!" she yells.

Blake shrugs. "I didn't do anything."

"Oh please. You totally flirted with me. You are such a- Jadie." her voice is uncomfortable when she says my name.

"Um..hi." I say nervously. "Is something wron-"

"No nothing's wrong." she says quickly. I turn to Blake.

"Um..what is going on?" I ask.

"Nothing."

"Your boyfriend tried to kiss-" Jared starts but is cut off.

"Nothing." Angie says. I look at Blake and give him the dirtiest look I can manage.

"So now you cheat on me?" I ask, tears threatning to escape.

"I didn't-" he starts.

"You attempted to cheat on me?" I correct myself. He's quiet. That's when Angie slaps him hard across the face. I mean, hard.

"You jerk." she yells. "What is your problem?" He is still quiet. I shake my head, not sure what to believe.

"I'm going." I say. Angie attempts to take my hand but I turn to her and smile. "How am I supposed to leave if you follow me?"

"Are you mad?" Blake asks. I shoot him another dirty look.

"Shut up." I order harshly. "I'm going to run away dramatically now." I run toward the trees and begin to ball as I get to the farthest willow tree. I sit with my head buried in my knees, tears racing down my cheeks. Then I feel a warm hand rest on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry." I turn to see Nick standing next to me. I open my mouth, attempting a joke or something but instead I end up coughing on tears. He gets on his knees and brings my head to his lap. His hand brushes my hair away from my eyes and gently moves his other hand across my cheek.

"I told you that I'd figure out who I'm supposed to be with." I say. Nick nods and I try to smile but it was a failing attempt. I see Haven come out from behind the bushes. "Hi." I say, sitting up and wiping the wetness off of my eyes.

"You okay?" she asks. I nod.

"Yeah I'm going to allright." I say. She gives me a small hug and runs off. I turn to Nick and he gives me a sad smile but I grab the collar of his shirt and pull him in. We kiss for maybe ten seconds or so and I pull away.

"Whoa." he says. I smile and get up.

"We should probably keep moving unless we're camping here." I say. Nick's eyes show that that's what he wants to do. "Okay then we'll stay here I guess." He nods and we go off to tell the others and I grin when I see that Blake had a huge red mark across his face.

"So we'll camp here tonight and keep moving tomorrow." Nick says.

Blake walks up to me and he says, "Look, I'm really-"

"Save the apology because I don't buy it." I say. I turn and flip my hair as I walk away and I'm pretty sure that Angie gave him a dirty look as well.

I decide to look in my backpack and find a dark brown blanket, gloves, a water container, and a box of crackers and jerky. I smile and lay the blanket on the ground near a shady willow tree. I decide, since it's getting dark, to lay ontop of it with my bow and arrows still clenched in my hands. I have never been more tired. I sigh and lay on my side. Then the anthem plays and I see the names of everyone who is dead and alive and sit up.

**District 1: Dead**

**District 2: Girl: Dead, Boy: Alive**

**District 3: Dead**

**District 4: Dead**

**District 5: Boy: Alive, Girl: (Haven) Alive**

**District 6: Girl: Dead, Boy: (Scott) Alive**

**District 7: Dead**

**District 8: Alive**

**District 9: Girl: Alive, Boy: Alive (Jared)**

**District 10: Girl (Evangeline) Alive, Boy: Dead**

**District 11: Girl: Alive, Boy: Alive (Nick)**

**District 12: Girl: Juliet (Jadie) Alive, Blake: Alive**

**Total Dead: 10**

**Total Alive: 14**

I sigh and stare into the sky. I smile as Nick walks up to me and takes a seat near me. "Hey." he says sweetly. I smile.

"Hello." I must look out of it because he puts his arm around me and lays me on the blanket so I am laying on my back. Then he lays next to me and puts his arm over me as if protecting me. Then I realize, he is protecting me. He's protecting me from the dangers. Protecting me from the possible killers that could be lurking at any moment. He is keeping me out of harms way. I allow my head to rest on his chest and my eyes close but open before I go to sleep.

Then I mutter the words. Those three words that I didn't express them even though I should have. The words that I can never think about because I get confused. But I don't think about them this time. All I say is, "I love you."

Nick's words are smoothe and warm as he purrs, "I love you too."


	10. Chapter 10 Leaving

When I wake up, I notice that I am still cradled, but also have a major headache, in Nick's arms. I hear something rustling in the bushes and that's when I remember how hungry I am. I haven't had anything to eat since we left the Capitol. Nice Juliet. Hunger angrily pulls at my stomach and I give up and eat five crackers out of the boxand offer some to Nick. He smiles and takes some but I force him to eat more than me considering he's hardly getting any sleep.

My hands still shake and I am still tired and hungry. Since the sun is just now rising, I grab my bow and arrows and stand up. "Do you want to come? I'm going hunting." I ask.

Nick grins. "Sure." I hand him the knife that was in the tree but he turns it away and grabs a sword from under a bush. "I've got this. Thanks though."

I smile and nod. "No problem." We walk a little farther in the forest and by the end of it we end up catching five squirrels and two rabbits. "I can cook them if you want me to." I offer sweetly.

"No that's fine I can do-" Nick starts but stops himself.

"What-"

"Shh." he murmurs. At first I don't know what he's talking about but then I hear the rustling in the bushes. "Get your bow ready." he whispers. I nod and grab the bow, arrow ready to fly. Suddenly a girl comes out of the bushes.

"Why hello there." she purrs, her voice evil. Nick glances at me but I already know how I am going to get into this battle.

"Hello," I say in the same cockey tone. "Might I say, you do not look like the best competition for these games. You haven't died yet? Shocking."

She glares at me. "Shouldn't you be with Blake?"

"No, he tried to cheat on me. Now, enough about me, how about you?" I ask with my bow aimed at her chest.

"Let's see, I'm happy to kill you..and that's about it." she replies, her sword drawn.

"I'm sorry, but that may not happen." I say with my cockey tone still in action. I shoot her and she drops dead in a matter of seconds. "Scan the area really quick." I tell Nick. "Please."

"Are you sure that you'll be okay?" he asks. I nod.

"I'll be fine. Now go." I say shooing him off with my hand. He smiles and walks into the forest. I walk around quietly and then get cornered against a tree. A knife is aimed at my neck and I am weaponless because my bow is dropped to the ground along with my arrows. My eyes widen as I see that Jared is the attacker.

"Hey, princess. Sorry but I need to win." he purrs. I close my eyes and prepare for the death soon to come but it doesn't. Instead, I hear a gasp from Jared and then I see Angie's hazel eyes look down at his neck. A knife is wedged perfectly in his spine and she laughs.

"You see Jared? This is what you get for being a backstabber." she purrs as he dies. When the cannon goes off, she pulls out the knife and whipes the blood off with her shirt. "I better get credit for this when you make it back." she says with a small smile.

My eyes are still wide open, not knowing how to respond. Nick races up behind me. "You okay?" he asks.

I turn to him. "I'm fine."

"Are you-" I cut him off.

"I am perfectly okay." I say, still dazed. "I'll cook it." Nick pushes my hand away as I try to grab a squirrel.

"I've got it." he says sweetly. I stare into his eyes, so brown, so dark.

"Okay." I mutter. I lean against a rock and sigh as I watch him cook the game. My eyes begin to feel heavy and he walks over to me.

"Here," he says handing me a piece of meat. I smile and take it. It's perfectly cooked and still warm.

"Thanks." I say. Nick's eyes stare into mine and don't look away until I stare back. "What?" I ask.

"Nothing." he mutters turning away.

"No there must be something." I insist.

"I was just looking into your eyes and taking in as much as I can before my life ends." he says. I grab his hand and spin him toward me almost violently.

"Do not say that, Nick!" I say harshly. "Please don't say that." my voice is lowered again. He looks into my eyes again.

"Okay. I'm sorry." he says sadly.

"It's okay." I murmur back. He smiles slightly and pulls me in for a long kiss. I can't help but shiver his hands reach mine. When I pull away, he presses the bridge of his nose to mine.

"It'll work out. Everything will." he purrs. I try to smile...I really do but considering that I know he's only saying this to comfort me, I can't do that too well. He can obviously tell this. "Hey, I need you to believe that you'll be okay."

"I don't care about me. I care about you." I say. "With you, my life means something. With you, I have a reason to wake up in the morning. With you, I feel like I mean something. You die, my spirit dies with you." My eyes begin to get a little teary but I need to hold my ground.

"Same with me." he says. Since I'm not sure how to respond to that, I just cuddle up in his arms.

"I know that I say this probably way too much but I love you." I say.

"Trust me, I love hearing that. I love you too." He says with his usual kind and gentle smile.

"Um...don't take this the wrong way but I think I want to leave the alliance." I say. "I mean, I can't kill any of them and the lives are getting-"

"Then I'm leaving with you. You can't expect me to just watch you walk away." he says. "I'm coming."

I close my eyes. "But you'd be so much safer with a huge group of people rather than just me."

"I don't care. So would you." he says.

"Okay." I mutter, knowing that he's probably right. "Then I guess you're coming too." I jot down in the dirt saying that we were going and we walk away. I want to cry, knowing that my best friend Angie will be worried sick but don't knowing that the Captiol wouldn't be as satisfied. Nick tries to carry my bow but I insist on keeping it because I need to be able to shoot at a moment's notice.

The woods are calm today. The wind barely blows on my face and the birds chirp softly. I take Nick's hand and continue walking. Once we've been walking for about three hours, we decide to make camp in a cave. I lay the blanket down on the ground and get bored so I make a rope swing and swing on that while Nick gets some rest.

I eventually walk in the cave and get under the blanket with him. His eyes flutter open and he smiles. "Hey." I grin and cuddle up closer to him.

"Hi." I murmur. He wraps his arm over me and I look at him. His beautiful eyes stare into mine. He pushes me closer to him with his arms and I go willingly.

"So, how was it out there?" he asks.

I smile. "Just like it is at home." He smiles and gently takes my hand.

"Do you think that forever and always is a good phrase?" he asks. I look at him and think about it.

"I guess it depends on who you use it to." I say.

"Well, I can honestly say that I will love you forever and always." he purrs.

I smile. "As I can say the same." Nick's hand raises to my cheek and gently finds its way across it. I slide my boots off and relax myself in his arms. I realize how dark it is outside and turn to him. "Maybe we should get some sleep. I can take the first watch if you want me to."

"No that's okay. I've been sleeping the entire time. I can keep watch." he says. I shake my head.

"No it's fine. I can."

"Just go to sleep, Julie." he murmurs.

I smile. "Is that what I'm going by now?"

"With me, yes. Now goodnight." he says. I smile and give up and close my eyes.

"I love you." I murmur before I fall asleep.

"I love you too." he says.


	11. Chapter 11: Lost?

When I wake up, the sun is rising and I turn to find Nick sleeping too. Normally, I would be freaked out since we could've died or have been killed during the night but under these circumstances, I honestly can say that I don't care. I gently pat his shoulder and when he doesn't wake up I kiss him and he awakes.

"Hey," he murmurs with a small smile but it's really obvious that he's still trying to wake up. "Goodmorning."

"Goodmorning." I say with a small smile. He gets up and stretches.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" he asks in a flirty tone.

I grin. "You've mentioned it a few times." He brings me down for a long kiss and rolls me on my back and kisses me up and down. Moaning, I push him off of me. "Nick, we have to hunt." But even so, I return the kisses.

"You sure?" he asks between kisses. I moan again and kiss him back.

"Yeah." I say. "We have to hunt."

He pulls away and sighs. "Alright. Let's get this over with." We both get up and I pull a jacket on and then my boots. Looking up, I notice how cloudy the sky is. Way too cloudy.

"We should probably hurry. I'm guessing a storm's coming so..." I let my voice trail off since Nick knows what I mean. He nods and grabs his knife as I grab my bow and arrows. When I turn I smile when I see him coming up next to me. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." he smiles and kisses me deeply. "Consider that a promise for later." I grin and roll my eyes.

"Alright, now come on lover boy." We walk through the woods and the trees, me looking around in the trees, and Nick looking on the floor level. I end up catching a few birds and put them in the backpack as he catches a couple squirrels. As much as this looks like now, I know that they won't last as long as we think. "Okay do we have enough for two days or so?" I ask.

"Yep." he answers. "More than enough I would say."

"Alrighty then, I'm coming down." I say, swinging from branch to branch and landing on the floor perfectly.

"At least-" I shriek as an arrow hits Nick in the shoulder and he lets out a cry of pain. I immediately lift my bow and shoot in the arrows direction, nailing a girl perfectly in the chest. Not caring who it is, I sit on the side of Nick as he tears escape his eyes. "Shhhh..." I murmur pulling the arrow out and wrapping my jacket around his wound. I come up to the girl and immediately almost burst into tears. "Evangeline?"

"I'm...I'm sorry I didn't think..." she says, blubbering.

"Omigod I didn't mean to." I start crying. "I..." She lays her head back and her eyes close. "Angie?" I ask, my voice shaking. "Oh God." I have to move. I'm not going to look weak by this. Or I'll try the best I can not to look weak. "Come on Nick, we've got to get you back." When we walk a little farther, I lay the blanket on the floor and lay him on it.

"Just kill me." he mutters. "Please. I'm you're weakness. Almost everyone knows that."

"No!" I say. "Stop it!" I pour a little water on the gash and try the best I can to dry up the blood. "Stop Nicholas. I love you and you are letting me help you whether you like it or not." she blows on it to releave some pain. 

"But-"

"Stop it." she says, cutting him off. "You're really starting to make me worry so please stop."

"Please just-" he starts. I kiss him to make him shut up.

"Please Nick," I start. "Please just shut the hell up."

"Okay I'm sorry." he says. I smile a little but mostly just to make _him _not stress out. _God I wish I had another shirt..._ I think. _It would be so much easier than this jacket... _

"Can I take your shirt off? This jacket isn't staying on tightly enough." I say.

"Yeah." he murmurs. "That's fine." I take his shirt off and wrap it around his shoulder.

"This should stop most of the blood...or some of it." I say 'Some of it' a little quieter than most of it. "Stay here, I'm going to purify some water." I quickly run to the lake and grab a huge container of water and drop some iodine in it. Walking back I sigh and lay next to him. It's going to be a long next few days. When a parachute lands I quickly untie it and smile when I see a medical kit. Replacing the shirt, I put on some disinfecting cream and wrap his shoulder tightly in gause.

"Thank you." he mutters, sleepily.

"You're welcome. Get some sleep. I'll be here." I say. He looks at me, fear in his eyes and I lay next to him. "I'm right here." I say carressing his cheek. "Now sleep." He takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes. In minutes he's alseep and I'm watching the forest to make sure I don't need to go physco killer on anyone else. That's when I remember. I just killed my best friend.


	12. Chapter 12 Star Crossed Lovers

_**A few hours later, I notice Nick move a little and grab some ready to drink water. "Nick?" I ask. He opens his eyes and puts on a smile…or tries to. "Hey sweetie," I murmur. "I need you to drink this for me okay?" I ask holding a water canister to his lips. **_

"_**I'm not thirsty." he murmurs, but his throat is dry. **_

"_**I don't care. Please drink for me? Pretty please." I say in my super innocent voice, praying it works. He shakes his head.**_

"_**Don't make me shove this entire thing down your throat." I say. "Drink. Now." He shakes his head again. Sighing, I threaten, beg, kiss, and bribe and he finally agrees to take a few sips. "There, that wasn't so bad was it?" I smile a little and walk down to the stream to set out some fish traps. Afterwards, I walk back over to Nick and sit there with him. **_

"_**We're going to have to-" he cuts himself off and takes in a deep breath, as I sit there, trying not to cry since I know how much pain he's in. "We're going to have to move to a more concealed area if you're going to take care of me…" I nod. **_

"_**I agree. We do. I'm going to wait an hour or so and then we're going to go into those caves." I say pointing. "Okay?"**_

"_**Y-yeah." he says. I notice he's shivering and pull the side of the blanket and wrap it around him, lifting his bad arm carefully over the blanket. **_

"_**Better?" I ask, kissing his forehead.**_

"_**Yeah." he answers. "I'm sorry I had to put you in this situation." he says, tears in his eyes. I shake my head and kiss him again. **_

"_**Stop it. You're the one that should be mad at me. I'm the one that wanted to go hunting and if it hadn't been for me-" he cuts me off, kissing me. **_

"_**I could never get mad at you for something like this, Juliet. Never." he says. I close my eyes and lay on the ground beside him again. "If I die, then that's okay."**_

"_**No. Don't say that." I order, almost crying at the idea. "Don't say that."**_

"_**I mean if I die, I won't be upset about it." he says. "I want you to make it out of here alive. No matter what." I feel tears in my eyes. I caress his cheek and then kiss him softly.**_

"_**I love you Nicholas. You won't die." I say, but I'm more promising myself than I am him. He smiles a little and closes his eyes. I lay down too and sigh. What if he does die? What if I can't save him? What if he dies because I mess up and do the wrong thing? What if….Stop it! Just…stop! **_**I start to sit up but he takes my hand.**

"**Please don't Julie. Please." he says. "I want to be with you as much as I can." **

"**But I have to make dinner." I argue. **

"**Are you hungry?" he asks curiously.**

"**No…" I say oddly.**

"**Me neither. Let's just skip it." he says. "Please." he says please with such a painful edge to it, it practically hurts me. **

"**Alright." I say, laying back down. I take his hand and rest my head on his good shoulder. As the sun sets, I look at him. "We have to move now."**

"**Okay." he says. I gently sit him up and lift him by his waist. Propping his good arm on my shoulders I start walking with him. When we get to a larger rock formation, I set him down so he leans against a boulder and bring some pine needles and vines in for cushion. Then I put the blanket over them. Laying him down, I jog out to where we were and grab our stuff and prop it inside the cave. After a while, I've got the exit covered. "Done?" he asks.**

**I nod and turn. "Yep." **

"**Good then come here." he says. I do as told and sit on the side of him. He brushes my cheek and smiles a little. "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." My jaw drops. **

"**You know Romeo and Juliet." I smile. **

"**Yeah. I do." he grins. "I've always thought that story was amazing. The fact that they could've avoided so much by staying away from each other but didn't because they loved each other." **

"**Kinda like us." I say with a sigh. Our eyes meet and we exchange a painful glance. The kind that said so much but couldn't say enough. "Um…we should get some sleep. You especially."**

"**Alright. Goodnight, Julie." he says.**

**I lay beside him and can't help it when I say, "Goodnight goodnight, parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall bid thee goodnight till it be morrow." he smiles and we both fall asleep. **


	13. Chapter 13: A Twist

Waking up, I shiver a little, feeling the cold morning hair race across my skin. I get up slowly and cover the blanket over Nick and look over in the trees. Grabbing my bow, I walk out and look around, making sure no one's there. Quickly moving, I climb up a tree and look around again. No one. "Good." I mutter quietly.

"Julie?" I hear Nick's voice. I climb down and walk back inside to find him struggling to get up. "Thank God." he mutters.

"What is it?" I ask, laying him back down.

"Nightmare…woke up…you were gone." he says, breathing quickly. I take his hand and gently massage it, trying to calm him down.

"Do you want to tell me what it was?" I ask quietly.

"Well…" he says. "It started with you crying and I was trying to calm you down."

"Why was I crying?" I ask.

"I don't know. That's what I was trying to ask you." he says. "And then I looked around and we were both surrounded by wolves. When I tried to save you…you…." Tears crowd his eyes. "You were already dead."

I close my eyes and kiss him lightly. "It's okay. I'm okay. We're both okay. That's all that matters." I say, trying to believe it myself.

"I don't think when I'm around you." he says. I look at him somewhat oddly.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"When I'm around you, my heart beats faster. I feel ten times happier than I am. I get calmer. I don't think about what I'm doing. I let my instincts take over." he says. I look at him and smile a little.

"Well… Love isn't brains it's blood - blood screaming inside you to work its will. If you love me then that's how it's supposed to feel." I smile a little and feel his head. "My God you are really really warm."

"That's not good…" he says. "I don't understand it Juliet."

"Understand what?" I ask.

"Why you don't just kill me off now so you can win." he says. "I just…I don't get you."

"I love you Nick." I say. "I love you more than anything. I love you more than I love air and I need you just the same amount."

"But why?" he asks.

"Because the second I saw you I knew there was something amazing about you. You have the most amazing eyes and the greatest smile and whenever you smile, your eyes light up. I love that. I love the shivers I get when you touch me. I love the blushes I get when you say my name. I love the smirks you give me whenever you're right. I love the way you cut me off whenever I'm in the middle of saying someth-" he pulls me down and kisses me for a long time. Closing my eyes, I rope my fingers through his hair and kiss him gently after I pull up for air.

"Is that really how you feel about me?" he asks, kind of stunned.

"Yes." I say. "I will always feel that way about you." He kisses me again.

"God because so will I." he says. "Julie…I need you to know something."

"What is it?"

"You know last night?" he says.

"Yes…" I say oddly.

"All I did was hold you and watch you sleep and it was the best night of my life." he says. I smile again and lay down next to him.

"Really?"

"Absolutely. The best." he says. I smile and cuddle closer to him.

"You need to eat. Like…soon." I say, remembering the lack of food he's had.

"But I'm not hungry." he says. I sigh and look over and smile a little when a parachute comes down. Getting up I notice that it's a huge basket of food with apples, ham, turkey, grapes, even bottled water. You could rarely get this stuff and it was still warm.

"Can you please try to eat? For me?" I say. He sighs and I hand him a small piece of ham, since he wasn't willing to eat any piece bigger and a slice of apple. Handing him one of four bottles of water, I take a piece of turkey and a chunk of ham and eat that. Putting the cover over it so it stays warm longer, I tuck it in the corner of the cave and look over at Nick. "It's morning. I should-"

"No." he cuts me off. "You aren't hunting, you aren't looking around the area. Stay with me. Please." he says, almost in tears again. "I had that horrible dream. It would be cruel and unusual for you to leave me here."

"Okay." I say, thinking that he's right and sit beside him. When sunset comes, I look over at him and see that the light is covering half of his face. I listen to Claudius Templesmith's voice and my jaw drops when I hear his words.

"We are adding another person from each district in the games! Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!" he says. I look over at Nick and his expression is the same as mine. I lay down and close my eyes, trying to go to sleep and Nick holds my hand under the blanket. We both know that the odds will never be in our favor.


End file.
